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ABSCONDING OF SLAVES. Arabic Ibāq (اباق‎). An absconded male or female slave is called Ābiq, but an infant slave who leaves his home is termed ẓāll, a word which is also used for an adult slave who has strayed. The apprehension of a fugitive slave is a laudable act, and the person who seizes him should bring him before the magistrate and receive a reward of forty dirhams. (Hamilton’s Hidāyah, vol. ii. p. 278.)

ABSTINENCE. Arabic Taqwā (تقوىٰ‎). Is very frequently enjoined in the Qurʾān. The word generally applies to abstinence from idolatry in the first instance, but it is used to express a life of piety. An excessive abstinence and a life of asceticism are condemned in the Qurʾān, and the Christians are charged with the invention of the monastic life. (Sūrah lvii. 27.) “As for the monastic life, they invented it themselves.” [MONASTICISM, FASTING.]

ABŪ ʿABDI ʾLLĀH (ابو عبدالله‎). Muḥammad ibn Ismāʾīl al-Buk͟hārī, the author of the well-known collection of traditions received by the Sunnīs. [BUKHARI.]

ABŪ ʿABDI ʾLLĀH AḤMAD IBN ḤANBAL (ابو عبدالله احمد بن حنبل‎). [HANBAL.]

ABŪ ʿABDI ʾLLĀH MĀLIK IBN ANAS (ابو عبدالله مالك بن انس‎). [MALIK.]

ABŪ ʿABDI ʾLLĀH MUḤAMMAD IBN AL-ḤASAN (ابو عبدالله محمد بن الحسن‎). Known as Imām Muḥammad. Born at Wāsit̤, a city in Arabian ʿIrāq, A.H. 132. He studied under the great Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, and had also studied under Imām Mālik for three years. He is celebrated as one of the disciples of the Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, from whom he occasionally differs, as is seen in the Hidāyah. He died at Rai, in K͟hurāsān, where his tomb is still to be seen, A.H. 189.

ABŪ BAKR (ابو بكر‎). Of the origin of his name, there are various explanations. Some think that it means “the father of the maiden,” and that he received this title because he was the father of ʿĀyishah, whom Muḥammad married when she was only nine years old. His original name was ʿAbdu ʾl-Kaʿbah (which the Prophet changed into ʿAbdu ʾllāh) Ibn Abī Quḥāfah. He was the first K͟halīfah, or successor of Muḥammad. [SHIʿAH.] Muḥammadan writers praise him for the purity of his life, and call him aṣ-Ṣiddīq, the Veracious. He only reigned two years, and died August 22nd, A.D. 634.

ABŪ DĀʾŪD (ابو داود‎). Sulaimān Ibn al-Ashʾas̤ al-Sijistānī; born at al-Baṣrah A.H. 202, and died A.H. 275. The compiler of one of the six correct books of Sunnī traditions, called the Sunnan Abī Dāʾūd, which contains 4,008 traditions, said to have been carefully collated from 500,000. [TRADITIONS.]

ABŪ ḤANĪFAH AN-NUʿMĀN (ابو حنيفة النعمان‎). Abū Ḥanīfah an-Nuʿmān is the great Sunnī Imām and jurisconsult, and the founder of the Ḥanīfī sect. His father, S̤ābit, was a silk dealer in the city of al-Kūfah, and it is said his grandfather, Zūt̤a, was a native of Kābul. He was born at al-Kūfah, A.H. 80 (A.D. 700), and died at Bag͟hdād, A.H. 150. He is regarded as the great oracle of Sunnī jurisprudence, and his doctrines, with those of his disciples, the Imām Abū Yūsuf and the Imām Muḥammad, are generally received throughout Turkey, Tartary, and Hindustan. It is related that Imām Mālik said that the Imām Abū Ḥanīfah was such a logician that, if he were to assert a wooden pillar was made of gold, he would prove it by argument.

ABŪ HURAIRAH (ابو هريرة‎). One of the most constant attendants of Muḥammad, who from his peculiar intimacy has related more traditions of the sayings and doings of the Prophet than any other individual. His real name is doubtful, but he was nicknamed Abū Hurairah on account of his fondness for a kitten. He embraced Islām in the year of the expedition to K͟haibar, A.H. 7, and died in al-Madīnah, A.H. 57 or 59, aged 78.

ABŪ JAHL (ابو جهل‎). An implacable adversary of Muḥammad. His real name was ʿAmr ibn Hishām, but he was surnamed, by the Muslims, Abū Jahl, or the “Father of Folly.” He is supposed to be alluded to in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxii. 8:—“There is a man who disputeth concerning God without either knowledge or direction.” He was a boastful and debauched man, and was killed in the battle of Badr.

ABŪ LAHAB (ابو لهب‎). One of the sons of Abū Mut̤t̤alib, and an uncle to Muḥammad. He was a most bitter enemy to the Prophet, and opposed the establishment of Islām to the utmost of his power. His name was ʿAbdu ʾl-Uzza, but he was surnamed by Muḥammad, Abū Lahab, “The Father of the Flame.” When Muḥammad received the command to admonish his relations, he called them all together, and told them he was a warner sent unto them before a grievous chastisement. Abū Lahab rejected his mission, and cried out, “Mayest thou perish! Hast thou called us together for this?” and took up a stone to cast at him; whereupon the CXIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān was produced:—

“Let the hands of Abū Lahab perish, and let himself perish!

His wealth and his gains shall avail him naught.

Burned shall he be at a fiery flame,

And his wife laden with fire wood,

On her neck a rope of palm fibre.”

Abū Lahab is said to have died of grief and vexation at the defeat which his friends had received at the battle of Badr, surviving that misfortune only seven days. His body was left unburied for several days.

Zaid and Abū Lahab are the only relatives or friends of Muḥammad mentioned by name in the Qurʾān.

ABŪ ʾL-HUẔAIL ZUFAR IBN AL-HUẔAIL (ابو الهذيل زفر بن الهذيل‎). Celebrated as the Imām Zufar, and as a contemporary and intimate friend of the great Imām Abū Ḥanīfah. He died at al-Baṣrah, A.H. 158.

ABŪ ʾL-QĀSIM (ابو القاسم‎). “The father of Qāsim.” One of the names of Muḥammad, assumed on the birth of his son Qāsim, who died in infancy. [MUHAMMAD.]

ABUSIVE LANGUAGE is forbidden by the Muslim law, and the offender must be punished according to the discretion of the Qāẓi. Abū Ḥanīfah says: “If a person abuse a Musalmān by calling him an ass or a hog, punishment is not incurred, because these expressions are in no respect defamatory of the person to whom they are used, it being evident that he is neither an ass nor a hog. But some allege that in our times chastisement is inflicted, since, in the modern acceptation, calling a man an ass or a hog is held to be abuse. Others, again, allege that it is esteemed only to be abuse when the person of whom it is said occupies a dignified position.” According to Abū Ḥanīfah, the greatest number of stripes that can be inflicted for abusive language is thirty-nine. (Hamilton’s Hidāyah, vol. ii. 78.)

Muḥammad is related to have said, “Abusing a Muslim is disobedience to God, and it is infidelity for anyone to join such an one in religious warfare.” (Mishkāt, xxii. 2.)

ABŪ T̤ĀLIB (ابو طالب‎). Muḥammad’s uncle and guardian; the father of ʿAlī. He is believed to have died as he had lived, an unbeliever in the Prophet’s mission; but for forty years he had been his faithful friend and guardian. He died in the third year before the Hijrah.

ABŪ ʿUBAIDAH (ابو عبيدة‎) IBN AL-JARRAḤ. One of the Companions, who was with the Prophet in all his wars, and distinguished himself at the battle of Uḥud. He was highly esteemed by Muḥammad, who made him one of the ʿAsharah al-Mubashsharah, or ten patriarchs of the Muslim faith. He died A.H. 18, aged 58.

ABŪ YŪSUF (ابو يوسف‎). Known also as Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm. Born at Bag͟hdād, A.H. 113. Studied under the Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, and is celebrated, together with the Imām Muḥammad and the Imām Zufar, as disciples of the great Imām; from whose opinions, however, the three disciples not unfrequently differ, as will be seen upon reference to the Hidāyah. He died A.H. 182.

ʿĀD (عاد‎). A tribe located to the south of Arabia, to which the prophet Hūd is said to have been sent. See Qurʾān, vii. 63:—

“And to ʿĀd we sent our brother Hūd, ‘O my people,’ said he, ‘worship God: ye have no other god than Him: Will ye not then fear Him?’

“Said the unbelieving chiefs among his people, ‘We certainly perceive that thou art unsound of mind; and we surely deem thee an impostor.’

“He said, ‘O my people! it is not unsoundness of mind in me, but I am an Apostle from the Lord of the Worlds.

“‘The messages of my Lord do I announce to you, and I am your faithful counsellor.

“‘Marvel ye that a warning hath come to you from your Lord through one of yourselves that He may warn you? Remember how he hath made you the successors of the people of Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature. Remember then the favours of God, that it may haply be well with you.’

“They said, ‘Art thou come to us in order that we may worship one God alone, and leave what our fathers worshipped? Then bring that upon us with which thou threatenest us, if thou be a man of truth.’

“He said, ‘Vengeance and wrath shall suddenly light on you from your Lord. Do ye dispute with me about names that you and your fathers have given your idols, and for which God hath sent you down no warranty? Wait ye then, and I too will wait with you.’

“And we delivered him, and those who were on his side, by our mercy, and we cut off, to the last man, those who had treated our signs as lies, and who were not believers.”

Also, Sūrah lxxxix. 5: “Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with ʿĀd at Iram, adorned with pillars, whose like have not been reared in these lands.” [HUD, IRAM.]

ADĀʾ (اداء‎). Payment; satisfaction; completing (prayers, &c.).

ADAM. Arabic, Ādam (ادم‎). The first man. Reckoned by Muslim writers as the first prophet, to whom ten portions of scripture (ṣaḥīfah) are said to have been revealed. He is distinguished by the title of Ṣafīyu ʾllāh, or, the “chosen one of God.” He is mentioned in the Qurʾān in the following Sūrahs, which are taken from Mr. Lane’s Selections (new edition, by Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole; Trübner, 1879), with the commentary in italics:—

“Remember, O Muḥammad, when thy Lord said unto the angels, I am about to place in the earth a vicegerent to act for me in the execution of my ordinances therein, namely, Adam,—they said, Wilt Thou place in it one who will corrupt in it by disobediences, and will shed blood (as did the sons of El-Jānn, who were in it; where ore, when they acted corruptly, God sent to them the angels, who drove them away to the islands and the mountains), when we [on the contrary] celebrate the divine perfection, occupying ourselves with Thy praise, and extol Thy holiness? Therefore we are more worthy of the vicegerency.—God replied, Verily I know that which ye know not, as to the affair of appointing Adam vicegerent, and that among his posterity will be the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will be manifest among them. And he created Adam from the surface of the earth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised, which was kneaded with various waters; and he completely formed it, and breathed into it the soul; so it became an animated sentient being. And he taught Adam the names of all things, infusing the knowledge of them into his heart. Then He showed them (namely, the things) to the angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these things, if ye say truth in your assertion that I will not create any more knowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency. They replied, [We extol] Thy perfection! We have no knowledge excepting what Thou hast taught us; for Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.—God said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their names, God said, Did I not say unto you that I know the secrets of the heavens and the earth, and know what ye reveal of your words, saying, Wilt thou place in it, etc., and what ye did conceal of your words, saying, He will not create any more generous towards Him than we, nor any more knowing”? (Sūrah ii. 28–31.)

“We created you; that is, your father Adam: then We formed you; we formed him, and you in him: then We said unto the angels, Prostrate yourselves unto Adam, by way of salutation; whereupon they prostrated themselves, except Iblees, the father of the jinn, who was amid the angels: he was not of those who prostrated themselves. God said, What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself, when I commanded thee? He answered, I am better than he: Thou hast created me of fire, and Thou hast created him of earth. [God] said, Then descend thou from it; that is, from Paradise; or, as some say, from the heavens; for it is not fit for thee that thou behave thyself proudly therein: so go thou forth: verily thou shalt be of the contemptible. He replied, Grant me respite until the day when they (that is, mankind) shall be raised from the dead. He said, Thou shalt be of those [who are] respited: and, in another verse [in xv. 38, it is said], until the day of the known period; that is, until the period of the first blast [of the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as Thou hast led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (that is, for the sons of Adam) in Thy right way, the way that leadeth to Thee: then I will surely come upon them, from before them, and from behind them, and from their right hands, and from their left, and hinder them from pursuing the way (but, saith Ibn ʿAbbās, he cannot come upon them above, lest he should intervene between the servant and God’s mercy), and Thou shalt not find the great number of them grateful, or believing. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised and driven away from mercy. Whosoever of them (that is, of mankind) shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all; with thee, and thy offspring, and with men.” (Sūrah vii. 10–17.)

“And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife (Howwā [or Eve], whom God created from a rib of his left side) in the garden, and eat ye therefrom plentifully, wherever ye will; but approach ye not this tree, to eat thereof; (and it was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some other tree;) for if ye do so, ye will be of the number of the offenders. But the devil, Iblees, caused them to slip from it, that is from the garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way to the tree of eternity? And he sware to them by God that he was one of the faithful advisers to them; so they ate of it, and He ejected them from that state of delight in which they were. And We said, Descend ye to the earth, ye two with the offspring that ye comprise [yet unborn], one of you (that is, of your offspring) an enemy to another; and there shall be for you, in the earth, a place of abode, and a provision, of its vegetable produce, for a time, until the period of the expiration of your terms of life. And Adam learned, from his Lord, words, which were these:—O Lord, we have acted unjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us, and be merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who suffer loss. And he prayed in these words; and He became propitious towards him, accepting his repentance; for He is the Very Propitious, the Merciful. We said, Descend ye from it (from the garden) altogether; and if there come unto you from Me a direction (a book and an apostle), those who follow my direction, there shall come no fear on them, nor shall they grieve in the world to come; for they shall enter paradise: but they who disbelieve and accuse our signs of falsehood, these shall be the companions of the fire: they shall remain therein for ever.” (Sūrah ii. 33–37.)

The Muḥammadans say, that when they were cast down from Paradise [which is in the seventh heaven], Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or Sarandīb, and Eve near Jiddah (the port of Makkah) in Arabia; and that, after a separation of two hundred years, Adam was, on his repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Makkah, where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being then named ʿArafāt; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon.—Sale.

ADAB (ادب‎). Discipline of the mind and manners; good education and good breeding; politeness; deportment; a mode of conduct or behaviour. A very long section of the Traditions is devoted to the sayings of Muḥammad regarding rules of conduct, and is found in the Mishkātu ʾl-Maṣābīḥ under the title Bābu ʾl-Adab (book xxii. Matthew’s Mishkāt). It includes—(1) Salutations, (2) Asking permission to enter houses, (3) Shaking hands and embracing, (4) Rising up, (5) Sitting, sleeping and walking, (6) Sneezing and yawning, (7) Laughing, (8) Names, (9) Poetry and eloquence, (10) Backbiting and abuse, (11) Promises, (12) Joking, (13) Boasting and party spirit. The traditional sayings on these subjects will be found under their respective titles. ʿIlmu ʾl-Adab is the science of Philology.

ʿĀDIYĀT (عاديات‎). “Swift horses.” The title of the 100th Sūrah of the Qurʾān, the second verse of which is, “By the swift chargers and those who strike fire with their hoofs.” Professor Palmer translates it “snorting chargers.”

ADʿIYATU ʾL-MĀS̤ŪRAH (ادعية الماثورة‎). “The prayers handed down by tradition.” Those prayers which were said by Muḥammad, in addition to the regular liturgical prayers. They are found in different sections of the traditions or Aḥādīs̤.

ʿADL (عدل‎). Justice. Appointing what is just; equalising; making of the same weight. Ransom. The word occurs twelve times in the Qurʾān, e.g., Sūrah iv. 128, “Ye are not able, it may be, to act equitably to your wives, even though ye covet it.” Sūrah ii. 44, “Fear the day wherein no soul shall pay any ransom for another soul.” Sūrah ii. 123, “And fear the day when no soul shall pay any ransom for a soul, nor shall an equivalent be received therefrom, nor any intercession avail; and they shall not be helped.” Sūrah ii. 282, “Write it down faithfully … then let his agent dictate faithfully.” Sūrah v. 105, “Let there be a testimony between you when any one of you is at the point of death—at the time he makes his will—two equitable persons from amongst you.” Sūrah vi. 69, “And though it (soul) compensate with the fullest compensation it would not be accepted.” Sūrah v. 115, “The words of thy Lord are fulfilled in truth and justice.” Sūrah xvi. 78, “Is he to be held equal with him who bids what is just, and who is on the right way?” Sūrah xvi. 92, “Verily God bids you do justice.” Sūrah xlix. 8, “Make peace with them with equity and be just.” Sūrah lxxxii. 8, “Thy generous Lord, who created thee and moulded thee and disposed thee aright.”

AL-ʿADL (العدل‎). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It signifies “the Just.” It does not occur in the Qurʾān as an attribute of the Divine Being, but it is in the list of attributes given in the Traditions. (Mishkāt, book x.)

ʿADN (عدن‎). The garden of Eden. Jannatu ʿAdn. The garden of perpetual abode. The term is used both for the garden of Eden, in which our first parents dwelt, and also for a place in celestial bliss. [JANNATU ʿADN.]

ADOPTION. Arabic Tabannī (تبنى‎). An adopted son, or daughter, of known descent, has no right to inherit from his, or her, adoptive parents and their relatives,—the filiation of this description being neither recommended nor recognised by Muḥammadan law. Such son or daughter is, however, entitled to what may be given under a valid deed in gift or will. In this particular the Muḥammadan agrees with the English, and the Hindu with the Roman law. (Tagore Law Lectures, 1873, p. 124.)

ADORATION. The acts and postures by which the Muslims express adoration at the time of prayer are similar to those used by the ancient Jews (vide Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, in loco), and consist of Rukūʿ, or the inclination of the body, the hands being placed on the knees; and Sujūd, or prostration upon the earth, the forehead touching the ground. [PRAYER.] The adoration of the black stone at Makkah forms an important feature in the ceremonies of the pilgrimage. [HAJJ.]

ADULTERY. Arabic zināʾ (زناء‎). The term zināʾ includes both adultery and fornication, but there is a difference in the punishment for these offences. [FORNICATION.]

Adultery is established before a Qāẓi, either by proof or confession. To establish it upon proof, four witnesses are required. (Qurʾān, Sūrah iv. 1.) When witnesses come forward, it is necessary that they should be examined particularly concerning the nature of the offence. When the witnesses shall have borne testimony completely, declaring that “they have seen the parties in the very act of carnal conjunction,” the Qāẓi passes sentence.

A confession of adultery must be made by the person who has committed the sin, at four different times, although, according to the Imām ash-Shāfiʿī, one confession is sufficient. Some of the doctors hold that if a person retract his confession, his retraction must be credited, and he must be forthwith released.

At the commencement of Muḥammad’s mission, women found guilty of adultery and fornication were punished by being literally immured—Sūratu ʾn-nisā (iv.) 19, “Shut them up within their houses till death release them, or God make some way for them.” This, however, was cancelled, and lapidation was substituted as the punishment for adultery, and 100 stripes and one year’s banishment for fornication.

When an adulterer is to be stoned to death, he should be carried to some barren place, and the lapidation should be executed, first by the witnesses, then by the Qāẓi, and afterwards by the by-standers. When a woman is stoned, a hole or excavation should be dug to receive her, as deep as her waist, because Muḥammad ordered such a hole to be dug for G͟handia.

It is lawful for a husband to slay his wife and her paramour, if he shall find them in the very act. If a supreme ruler, such as a K͟halīfah, commit adultery, he is not subject to such punishment.

The state of marriage which subjects a whoremonger to lapidation, requires that he be free (i.e. not a slave), a Muslim, and one who has consummated a lawful marriage.

It will be seen that Muḥammadan law is almost identical with the divine law of the Jews with regard to adultery (Deut. xxiii. 22, Lev. xix. 20); but the Mosaic penalty applied as well to the betrothed as to the married woman.

AFFINITY. Arabic Qarābah (قرابة‎). The prohibited degrees (ḥurmah) with regard to marriages are as follows:—Mother, daughter, paternal aunt, maternal aunt, brother’s or sister’s daughter, grandmother, granddaughter, mother-in-law, step-mother, daughter-in-law, granddaughter-in-law. Nor can any man marry any who stand in any of these relationships from fosterage. The marriage of two sisters at the same time is forbidden, but the marriage of a deceased wife’s sister is allowed. Marriage with a deceased brother’s wife is very common in Muslim countries, such marriages being held to be a very honourable means of providing for a brother’s widow. The marriage of cousins is also considered most desirable, as being the means of keeping families and tribes together. The passage of the Qurʾān on the subject of affinity, is as follows (Sūrah v. 27):—

“Marry not women whom your fathers have married: for this is a shame, and hateful, and an evil way:—though what is past (i.e. in times of ignorance) may be allowed.

“Forbidden to you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your aunts, both on the father and mother’s side, and your nieces on the brother and sister’s side, and your foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and the mothers of your wives, and your step-daughters who are your wards, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in: (but if ye have not gone in unto them, it shall be no sin in you to marry them;) and the wives of your sons who proceed out of your loins; and ye may not have two sisters; except where it is already done. Verily, God is Indulgent, Merciful!

“Forbidden to you also are married women, except those who are in your hands as slaves: This is the law of God for you. And it is allowed you, beside this, to seek out wives by means of your wealth, with modest conduct, and without fornication. And give those with whom ye have cohabited their dowry. This is the law. But it shall be no crime in you to make agreements over and above the law. Verily, God is Knowing, Wise!”

AFFLICTION. Arabic ḥuzn (حزن‎), g͟hamm (غم‎). The benefits of affliction are frequently expressed in both the Qurʾān and Traditions. For example: Sūrah ii. 150, “We will try you with something of fear, and hunger, and loss of wealth, and souls and fruit; but give good tidings to the patient who, when there falls on them a calamity, say, ‘Verily we are God’s and verily to Him we return.’” This formula is always used by Muḥammadans in any danger or sudden calamity, especially in the presence of death.

In the traditions (see Mishkātu ʾl-Maṣābīḥ), Muḥammad is related to have said, “A Muslim is like unto standing green corn, which sometimes stands erect, but is sometimes cast down by the wind.” “No affliction befals a servant of God but on account of the sins which he commits.”

AFSŪN (افسون‎). The Persian term for Daʿwah or exorcism. [EXORCISM.]

ʿAFŪ (عفو‎). Lit. “erasing, cancelling.” The word is generally used in Muḥammadan books for pardon and forgiveness. It occurs eight times in the Qurʾān, e.g. Sūrah ii. 286, “Lord, make us not to carry what we have not strength for, but forgive us and pardon us and have mercy on us.” Sūrah iv. 46, “Verily God pardons and forgives.”

Al-ʿAfū is one of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “one who erases or cancels;” “The Eraser (of sins).” See Qurʾān, Sūrah iv. 51.

AGENT. Arabic wakīl (وكيل‎). One legally appointed to act for another. For the Muḥammadan law regarding the appointment of agents to transact business, or to negotiate marriages, see Hamilton’s Hidāyah, vol. iii. p. 1; Baillie’s Digest. Hanīfī Code, p. 75; Imāmīyah Code, p. 29. The author of the Hidāyah says, “It is lawful for a person to appoint another his agent for the settlement, in his behalf, of every contract which he might lawfully have concluded himself, such as sale, marriage, and so forth;” and he then proceeds to lay down rules for guidance in such matters at great length. A woman who remains in privacy and is not accustomed to go into Court, ought, according to the saying of Abū Bakr, to appoint an agent and not appear herself. A slave or a minor may be appointed agent for a free man.

AL-AḤAD (الاحد‎). “The One.” A title given to God. [NAMES OF GOD.]

AḤADĪYAH (احدية‎). Unity, concord. Al-Aḥadīyah is a term used by Ṣūfī mystics to express a condition of the mind, completely absorbed in a meditation on the Divine Unity. (See ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dictionary of the Technical Terms of the Ṣūfīs. Sprenger’s edition.)

AḤQĀF (احقاف‎). The name of a tract of land in Sihr in Yaman. The title of the XLVIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān.

AHLU ʾL-BAIT (اهل البيت‎). “The people of the house.” A term used in the Qurʾān (Sūrah xxxiii. 33), and in the Ḥadīs̤ (Mishkāt, xxiv. 21), for Muḥammad’s household.

AHLU ʾL-HAWĀʾ (اهل الهواء‎). A visionary person; a libertine.

AHLU ʾL-KITĀB (اهل الكتاب‎). Lit. “The people of the book.” A term used in the Qurʾān for Jews and Christians, as believers in a revealed religion. Some sects of the Shīʿahs include the Majūsī (Magī) under this term.

AḤMAD (احمد‎). The name under which Muḥammad professes that Jesus Christ foretold his coming. Vide Qurʾān, Sūrah lxi. 6, “And remember when Jesus the son of Mary said, ‘O children of Israel! of a truth I am God’s Apostle to you to confirm the law which was given before me, and to announce an apostle that shall come after me, whose name shall be Aḥmad.’” Muḥammad had, no doubt, heard that Our Lord had promised a Paracletos (παρακλητος), John xvi. 7. This title, understood by him, probably from the similarity of sound, as equivalent to Periclytos (περικλυτος), he applied to himself with reference to his own name Muḥammad, the praised or glorified one. Muir thinks that in some imperfect Arabic translation of the Gospel of St. John, the word παρακλητος may have been translated Aḥmad, or praised. (Life of Mahomet, vol. i. 17.)

AḤZĀB (احزاب‎). “Confederates.” The title of the XXXIIIrd Sūrah of the Qurʾān, which is said to have been written when al-Madīnah was besieged by a confederation of the Jewish tribes with the Arabs of Makkah. A.H. 5.

AIYŪB (ايوب‎). [JOB.]

AJAL (اجل‎). The appointed time of death, said to be ordained by God from the first. Qurʾān, Sūrah xxxv. 44, “He respites them until the appointed time. When their appointed time comes, verily God looks upon His servants.” [DEATH.]

AJĪR (اجير‎). A term used in Muḥammadan law for a person hired for service. [IJARAH.]

AJNABĪ (اجنبى‎). A foreigner; any person not of Arabia.

ĀK͟HIR-I-CHAHĀR-I-SHAMBAH (آخر چهار شنبه‎). The last Wednesday of the month of Ṣafar. It is observed as a feast in commemoration of Muḥammad’s having experienced some mitigation of his last illness, and having bathed. It was the last time he performed the legal bathing, for he died on the twelfth day of the next month. In some parts of Islām it is customary, in the early morning of this day to write verses of the Qurʾān, known as the Seven Salāms (q.v.), and then wash off the ink and drink it as a charm against evil. It is not observed by the Wahhābīs, nor is its observance universal in Islām.

AK͟HLĀQ (اخلاق‎). The plural of K͟hulq. Natures, dispositions, habits, manners. The general term for books on morality, e.g. Ak͟hlāq-i-Jalālī, Ak͟hlāq-i-Muḥsinī, the name of a dissertation on Ethics by Ḥusain Wāʾiz̤ Kāshifī, A.H. 910, which has been translated into English by the Rev. H.G. Keene (W.H. Allen & Co.).

ĀK͟HŪND (آخوند‎). A maulawī; a teacher. A title of respect given to eminent religious teachers. One of the most celebrated Muḥammadan teachers of modern times was the “Āk͟hūnd of Swāt,” who died A.D. 1875. This great religious leader resided in the village of Saidū, in the district of Swāt, on the north-west frontier of India.

ĀK͟HŪNDZĀDAH (آخوندزاده‎). The son of an Āk͟hūnd. A title of respect given to the sons or descendants of celebrated religious teachers. [AKHUND.]

ĀL (آل‎). Lit. “offspring, or posterity.” Used in Muslim works for the offspring of Muḥammad.

AL-AʿLA (الاعلى‎). “The Most High.” The title of the LXXXVIIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the second verse of which the word occurs: “The name of thy Lord the Most High is celebrated.”